Examining the association of climate change worry and awareness of ecological footprint reduction behaviours with Mediterranean diet adherence and climate-friendly food choices

Purpose - Consumers' preferences for more sustainable dietary patterns and more climate-friendly foods can play a significant role in mitigating the effects of climate change. Accordingly, the present cross-sectional study aimed to examine the role of climate change worry and awareness of ecological footprint reduction behaviours in undergraduate consumers' adherence to the Mediterranean diet and climate-friendly food choices.

Design/methodology/approach - This cross-sectional study was carried out with 600 healthy undergraduate students, including 255 (42.5%) males and 345 (57.5%) females. They completed the climate change worry scale, the awareness scale for reducing ecological footprint and the Mediterranean diet adherence scale. In addition, participants' climate-friendly diet scores (CFDS) were calculated to evaluate climate-friendly food choices. Data were analysed using SPSS software.

Findings - Linear regression models indicated that climate change worry was positively associated with adherence to the Mediterranean diet (beta = 0.121, p = 0.003) and CFDS (beta = 0.087, p < 0.001). Similarly, a positive association was observed between the awareness of ecological footprint reduction behaviours and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (beta = 0.179, p < 0.001) and CFDS (beta = 0.098, p < 0.001).

Research limitations/implications - The results may indicate that worry about climate change and awareness of ecological footprint reduction behaviours can promote higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet and more climate-friendly food choices, but the observed associations do not imply causality, and further studies are required to determine whether causal links exist.

Originality/value - This study examined the relationships between climate change worry, awareness of ecological footprint reduction behaviours, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and climate-friendly food choices in a single study on undergraduate students.